Remembering the victims:
Satwant Singh Kaleka, 65, the temple president, killed after physically confronting the gunman. Paramjit Kaur, 41. Prakash Singh, 39. Ranjit Singh, 49. Sita Singh, 41. Suveg Singh, 84.
If you would like to make a donation in honor of the victims:
Online: http://wearesikhs.com/
Postal address:
Victims Memorial Fund
Sikh Temple of Wisconsin
7512 South Howell Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53154
I'm sorry for the lack of updates recently, I feel like I've dropped the ball. The past month has been hectic. That said, I've continued aggregating stories. This post might get long. I'll go chronological in the order I received stories. Some of this won't be news at this point but I'm going to post what I have anyway.
Things are getting less hectic at home. As long as there are new events happening, I'll aim to post once a week from here on.
Without a Gun, How Many Lives Would Have Been Saved?
When news broke of the murders at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin on August 5th, people of all faiths and backgrounds and the first responders who came to the scene to help were horrified by the ambush on men and women as they prepared for worship services. Leaders across the country quickly denounced the hate crime and the FBI immediately began investigating the attack as a possible case of domestic terrorism. But as easy as it was for all of us to be outraged by another senseless attack and heartbroken by the congregation’s stories, it was difficult to be surprised by how it took place again in a nation unwilling to curb guns designed just to kill lots of people in the hands of lawless people. Would this have happened without a semi-automatic gun and high-capacity clips of bullets?
Revise hate crime laws to protect Sikhs – Senators to Justice Department
Washington (August 26, 2012): According to information accessed by Sikh Siyasat a group of United States’ Senators have sent a letter (dated: August 23, 2012) to US Attorney General Eric Holder calling for the Justice Department to allow for the collection and tracking of hate crimes committed against Sikh-Americans.
...
“This tragic shooting is the latest hate crime committed against Sikhs in the United States,” the senators wrote. “Because many Sikhs wear turbans and do not cut their facial hair, they are often viewed as foreign and are easy to target for harassment and crime. Thus, Sikhs are particularly susceptible to violence committed because of their Sikh identity, even if the perpetrator does not understand that the victim is a Sikh.”
How Hate Gets Counted
“Do American Sikhs count?” Simran Jeet Singh and Prabhjot Singh raised the question in The Opinion Pages of The New York Times, highlighting the disturbing aspects of the response to the shooting at a Sikh temple in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Aug. 5.
“It is wrong to assume that every attack against a Sikh is really meant for a Muslim,” they wrote, that assumption “overlooks the long history of discrimination and hatred directed at Sikhs in America.”
Shootings: Put down your weapons!
The recent shootings at the Empire State Building, at the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin where six people were killed, and at the Aurora, Colorado movie theater that left twelve dead are the latest in a string of mass shootings in the U.S. At fault are the shooters, right?
Guns don’t kill people, the saying goes, people kill people. The problem is that if people who want to kill people didn’t have such easy access to automatic weapons and assault rifles with high capacity ammunition clips, they might not kill anyone at all.
I am all for guns. I like hunting and I like shooting at the range. I believe in guns for sport and self-defense, but I don’t believe in AK-47s, Uzis, M-16s and other automatic and semi-automatic weaponry. Most of these assault weapons were banned by the passage of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban under Bill Clinton, but the law expired in 2004. Most mass murderers in the U.S. have used semi-automatic handguns. In the Wisconsin, Colorado and Arizona shootings, the weapons used were semi-automatic handguns and all of them were purchased legally.
We need better gun regulations. And I’m not talking of better licensing; I’m talking no automatic or semi-automatic weapons. Period.
I'd be a little careful with this. I come from a family of hunters in a community of hunters. Semi-automatic rifles are, in fact, used for hunting. I have personally never fired a semi-automatic rifle but I know people who use them for hunting and, while I'm not a huge fan of that, I don't think it should be made illegal. Semi-automatic handguns, on the other hand, and high capacity ammunition clips are not guns used for hunting. They may be bought by collectors and some target shooters but they are generally assault weapons.
Tattoos tell story of Wis. temple suspect’s racist beliefs
"Symbols are an important part of this culture,” explained Marilyn Mayo, co-director of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism.
“Getting a tattoo is permanent and it comes with a serious commitment,” she told ABC News. “It means you're a member, you're part of this club and have been initiated."
Page’s flesh was covered with symbols of the white supremacist movement, some of which may have simply seemed like random numbers to an untrained observer.
Officer wounded in Sikh attack still can't speak
Investigators haven't been able to interview the police officer who was seriously wounded in the Aug. 5 attack on the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said Tuesday.
Edwards said Lt. Brian Murphy "has some damage to his throat. They want his throat to heal up."
"He's able to whisper a bit," Edwards said. "Otherwise he has an electronic device we have provided him. He's able to type."
Death of Sikh temple shooter Page ruled suicide
Sikh temple shooter Wade Michael Page's death has officially been ruled a suicide by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's office.
The death of Page, who shot and killed six people and wounded four others on Aug. 5 as worshippers gathered at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, originally had been reported as a homicide.
In the hours after the mass shooting at the temple, it was believed that an Oak Creek police officer had taken Page, 40, down, killing him.
But days later, authorities said Page shot himself in the head with his handgun after the officer shot and wounded Page in the abdomen. That Oak Creek officer was later identified as Sam Lenda.
Sikh temple plans soccer field, athletics courts
Oak Creek's Sikh Temple of Wisconsin plans to develop a soccer field, tennis court and two volleyball courts on its grounds south of the Howell Ave. temple, under a proposal recommended for zoning approval this week by the city Plan Commission.
Video: Poem From the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin
This powerful and moving video created by Amardeep Kaleka, son of slain temple president Satwant Kaleka, was posted Friday.
Feast joins neighbors at temple as equals
They chant "Satnam, Waheguru." It means "God is true. God is great."
The women - heads covered in brilliant lengths of fabric - encircle a table and break off pieces of dough to make the flatbread roti. They pat it between their hands and pass it along to the fire, where it will be grilled on both sides. On the stove nearby, big pots bubble away, rich with curry and vegetables.
This is the beginnings of langar, the centuries-old Sikh tradition of serving a community meal after services in the gurdwara, the temple.
One Month Later: Reflecting on the Sikh Temple Tragedy
One month ago today, an armed gunman went into the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin and killed six people. It was soon made known that this mass murderer was a white supremist.
“Things fell into place for me, and if they didn’t, I could have been Wade Page,” says Arno Michaelis, founder of the organization Life After Hate.
Even before the description of the shooter was made public, Arno posted a video response to the shooting (embedded below), where he says, “This atrocity that happened today hits home for me because I live in Milwaukee—this is in my backyard—but also because there was a time in my life where I practiced the hate and violence that was the raw material behind this shooting.”
Council Confirms Sikh Temple Member to CDA
Balhair Dulai, a 34-year resident and Sikh Temple of Wisconsin trustee, is the newest member of the Community Development Authority.
The Oak Creek Common Council confirmed Dulai's appointment Tuesday. In brief remarks before the council, Dulai thanked Mayor Steve Scaffidi, Police Chief John Edwards and others in the city who have helped the Sikh community in its time of grieving.
Reader voices: Understanding Sikhism
In the aftermath of the shootings by a white supremacist at a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin where six people were killed, I thought a greater understanding of the religion was needed. America has the fourth largest concentration of Sikhs in the world, behind Canada, U.K. and India, which has the largest population of this religious group.
President Obama and his wife were "deeply saddened" by the shooting, saying then that "the American people have them in our thoughts and prayers," that the Obama administration will support an investigation of this incident and that "our country has been enriched by Sikhs, who are a part of our broader American family."
All of those statements are great and are completely valid (even the last one) but what do they stop discrimination against this religious group? It seems Obama is not taking concrete action to stop other hate crimes against Sikhs even with the FBI calling this "domestic terrorism."
Sikh Temple officials move cautiously to spend donations after shooting rampage
Officials at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin are treading carefully as they figure out how to distribute hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations that have poured in from around the world after a deadly shooting rampage last month.
The Sikh community in suburban Milwaukee has always been close-knit, and the members drew even closer after the shooting. But temple leaders know even the closest of bonds can unravel when money gets involved.
Aware of arguments that flared among victims' families after shootings in Colorado and at Virginia Tech, Sikh leaders are relying on an outside expert to figure out the fairest way to share the funds.
Community Center Event Will Benefit Sikh Temple, Lt. Murphy
After the shocking Aug. 5 shootings at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, many business leaders called the Oak Creek Community Center wondering what they could do to help.
The facility, after all, has long been known for its ability to coordinate large fundraisers, and "strengthening community" is directly in its mission statement.
So after a few weeks passed and things started to settle, Community Center Director Rich Duchniak started contacting those businesses and organizations that reached out to him the week of the shootings.
If you're a local and interested in going: September 29th, 4-8pm, 8580 S Howell Ave. Tickets $8 in advance, $10 at the door, $5 for kids under 10.
Family of Temple Shooting Victim Releases Statement
"Our beloved father, Punjab Singh, was severely injured on that terrible August day," the family said in a statement issued through Froedtert Hospital. "Despite the heroic efforts of emergency responders at the scene and the medical care he received from trauma specialists and other doctors at Froedtert Hospital, he has not fully recovered. He is no longer in the intensive care unit and now is making a slow and gradual recovery.
"We are grateful for the many messages of support we have received. It is a comfort for us to know people are keeping our father in their thoughts and prayers."
Authorities investigating Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting still searching for shooter's motive
There's no trial to prepare, no jury to persuade, no judge to hand down a sentence.
Wade Michael Page is dead, having shot himself in the head after killing six people at a Sikh temple outside Milwaukee. Although detectives have interviewed more than 100 people, combed through Page's email and recovered hundreds of pieces of evidence from his residences to the temple, their findings might never be presented in court.
Federal investigators are developing theories but also may never know for certain why he chose to attack total strangers in a holy place.
Sikhs repair, reclaim temple after rampage
Members of the Sikh temple where six people died in a weekend rampage swept, scrubbed and painted over damage to their building Thursday after investigators allowed them back inside.
A lone bullet hole remained in a metal door frame, which members say won't be repaired. The doorway leads to the main prayer area, where the only female victim -- 41-year-old Paramjit Kaur -- was killed.
But elsewhere, the congregation was busy polishing the tile floors, touching up patched drywall and replacing carpet, using donated supplies; and reopening the dining hall, where the SIkhs run an open kitchen for the community. Several members wept as they walked in, while others embraced.
California makes Sikh history a part of school curriculum
Wis. police release video of temple gunman
A white supremacist who killed a half-dozen people at a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee last month chased down the first police officer on the scene, pumping round after round into him as he lay wounded behind a parked car, video released Monday showed.
Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards played the video from Lt. Brian Murphy's squad car before telling reporters that Murphy was shot 15 times, not nine as authorities previously said. His armored vest stopped three of the rounds, Edwards said.
Was the deadly Sikh temple shooting in Oak Creek, Wis., a mistake?
It has been one month since the deadly shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis., caught the attention of our entire nation. Americans followed the news for days, and many would later confess that the event helped shatter their stereotypes of what a terrorist looks like.
While modern media and political rhetoric teaches us to typecast terrorists as people with brown skin and bushy beards, the shooting has flipped the script. The terrorist, Wade Michael Page, was a former soldier in the U.S. Army with close ties to neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups. The victims were practitioners of the Sikh religion, a group that has long been targeted around the globe due to their distinct religious identity.
As I've stated before, mistaken identity (if that's what this was) makes this no less horrible. All it does is show the ignorance of the kind of person who would do something like this.
Sikhs donate to Wisconsin officer shot at temple
Calling it a tribute to a "real American hero," two Yuba City residents on Wednesday donated $50,000 each to the Wisconsin police officer who was shot 15 times during the Aug. 5 rampage at a Sikh temple outside Milwaukee.
Didar S. Bains and Dr. Balwinder S. Malhi combined to donate $100,000 to Lt. Brian Murphy of the Oak Creek Police Department in Wisconsin. The donation was made Wednesday at the Yuba City Police Department.
Dramatic video footage shows Wade Michael Page firing on police during Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin
Dramatic video footage captured the moment white supremacist Wade Michael Page began firing on police as they arrived at the scene of his hate-filled horror in a Sikh temple in Wisconsin last month.
In the videos, recorded on cameras mounted on dashboards of police cars and released on Monday by the Oak Creek Police Department, the gunman repeatedly fired at Lt. Brian Murphy after he had fallen behind a parked car, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the throat.
If you want to see the video, it's at the bottom of the page. I only watched part of it to this point. I just haven't been able to bring myself to watch the whole thing. Not sure I ever will.
PODCAST: One Sikh reflects on the Oak Creek Tragedy
In the wake the Aug. 5 tragedy at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, the people of the Sikh community reacted not with contempt, or revenge, or anger, but remarkably, with grace and understanding. It’s something to be proud of, and it inspired me to learn more about the Sikh religion and its people.
US lawmakers urge action against anti-Sikh violence
Eighty-eight US lawmakers on Friday condemned anti-Sikh attacks and urged authorities to track violence against the community in the wake of a deadly attack on a temple in Wisconsin.
The House members introduced a resolution that would express "strong support for the right of the Sikh American community to live in peace and free from discrimination, hate crimes, bullying and all forms of violence."
In a bid to find a way to burb a recent wave of attacks, the resolution would urge the Justice Department, which tracks hate crimes, to start collecting data specifically on violence against Sikhs.
Son of temple shooting victim to testify in Washington
The youngest son of Paramjit Kaur, the 41-year-old mother gunned down with five others at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek in August, is among those who will testify next week at a congressional hearing on hate groups and extremism.
Harpreet Singh Saini, 18, has been asked to speak before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights on Wednesday, and others in the local Sikh community will provide written testimony.
"I'm going to talk about my mother and that we need to just end all of this hate," said Saini, who will travel to Washington with his brother, Kamal.
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